Monday, 11 November 2013

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir
Bhabha, a multi-faceted personality, who is popularly known as the ‘father of
the Indian nuclear programme’. He set up two pre-eminent institutions which are
instrumental in the development of nuclear weapons in India namely Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC). Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born on 30 October, 1909 in Mumbai in a
wealthy Parsi family to the parents J.H. Bhabha, a leading barrister of Mumbai
and Meherbai Bhabha, a beautiful lady who had a strong influence on young Homi.

Homi never slept
enough as he had extremely active brain. He was also related to Dinshaw
Maneckji Petit and Dorabji Tata. Lady Tata, the aunt of Homi wanted him to
receive a well-rounded education. At the age of fifteen, Homi studied at the
Cathedral Grammar School in Mumbai and passed his Senior Cambridge
Examinations. J.H. Bhabha, the father of Homi wanted his son to imbibe Indian
culture, customs, and lifestyle. Two of Homi’s noteworthy feasts at the age of
fifteen are – his comprehension of Einstein’s theory of relativity and having
familiarity with the works of classical European painters.

Homi’s parents maintained a wonderful library
at home and his maternal aunt, Cooma Panday had a stock of gramophone records
of Beethoven, Bach and other greats of Western classical music which was very
fond of Homi. By spending a large amount of time in his aunt Lady Tata’s home
Homi got an opportunity to see the great national leaders. As Homi grew up he
developed a very good understanding of science, trade, mega projects and
factories and industry.

Homi went on to
study at Elphinstone College in Bombay, after which he attended the Royal
Institute of Science in Bombay till 1927. In the same year he set off for
England to study and to take a degree in Mechanical engineering. He had a close
interaction with Raziuddin Siddiqui, an influential theoretical physicist, at
Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University. After staying for a while
Homi changed his mind and wrote a letter to his father stating that he wanted
to study mathematics and physics for which has father denied. After much
convincing finally his father agreed on one condition if Homi could obtain a
first class in mechanical sciences exam.

Bhabha took the
exam and got a first class and then continued his mathematical studies under
Paul Dirac, aiming to complete his major in mathematics. He then plunged into
research in physics. He was working at the famous Cavendish Laboratory towards
his doctorate in theoretical physics. It was a great time to be in Cambridge.
Under the leadership of Lord Rutherford, the laboratory was flourishing very
well in the nuclear and atomic structure of matter. This included the use of
cloud chambers to demonstrate the production of electron pairs and showers by
gamma radiation, the transmutation of lithium with high-energy protons and the
discovery of the neutron. In theoretical physics, big developments were taking
place in quantum mechanics.

Bhabha received
various awards and grants such as the Salomons Studentship in Engineering and
Rouse Ball travelling studentship in mathematics during the 1931-32 which
allowed Homi to visit the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. He received his
doctorate in nuclear physics after publishing his paper entitled “The
Absorption of Cosmic Radiation” and this particular paper won him the Isaac
Newton Studentship. In 1939, he also obtained a Royal Society Grant to work at
Manchester in the laboratory of P.M.S. Blackett. During the World War II Bhabha
was in India and published some works in a journal commissioned by C.V. Raman
and established rapport with him. In 1941, Bhabha was elected as a Fellow of
the Royal Society, London that was a very big honour then. Soon after this, he
was invited to lecture in many universities in India and offered permanent
positions at Allahabad, Calcutta, and Mumbai but were turned them down by
Bhabha.

Bhabha wished to
start a new centre for fundamental research without having interference from
anybody. He wrote a letter with the famous proposal to Sir Sorab Sakalatvala,
Chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust stating that a big Institute needed to
be established for doing research work in the fundamental problems of Physics.
In 1944 this proposal was accepted and as a result of this, TIFR was formed in
Bombay with the Government of Bombay as the joint founder. Bhabha acquired
numerous paintings from the great artists of the time to adorn the walls of the
institute - M.F. Husain was a one among such great artists. The institute went
on to do tremendously well and Bhabha attracted various eminent foreign and
domestic scientists to stay and lecture for short spells.